General mechanism involved in subwavelength optics of conducting microstructures: charge-oscillation-induced light emission and interference

Abstract

Interactions between light and conducting microstructures or nanostructures can result in a variety of novel phenomena, but their underlying mechanisms have not been completely understood. From calculations of surface charge density waves on conducting gratings and by comparing them with classical surface plasmons, we revealed a general yet concrete picture regarding the coupling of light to free electron oscillation on structured conducting surfaces that can lead to oscillating subwavelength charge patterns (i.e., structured surface plasmons). New wavelets emitted from these light sources then destructively interfere to form evanescent waves. This principle, usually combined with other mechanisms, is mainly a geometrical effect that can be universally involved in light scattering from all periodic and non-periodic structures containing free electrons. This picture may provide clear guidelines for developing conductor-based nano-optical devices.

© 2010 Optical Society of America

High-frequency response of subwavelength-structured metals in the petahertz domain

J. Weiner and Frederico D. Nunes
Opt. Express 16(26) 21256-21270 (2008)

Unexpected unidirectional perfect absorption of light in a freestanding optical thin metallic grating with extremely small filling factor

Hu-Quan Li, Ke-Jia Wang, Zhen-Gang Yang, and Jin-Song Liu
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 31(4) 806-809 (2014)

Subwavelength interference of light on structured surfaces

Xiangang Luo, DinPing Tsai, Min Gu, and Minghui Hong
Adv. Opt. Photon. 10(4) 757-842 (2018)

Tuning plasmonic resonances of an annular aperture in metal plate

Barmak Heshmat, Dan Li, Thomas E. Darcie, and Reuven Gordon
Opt. Express 19(7) 5912-5923 (2011)

Asymmetrically filled slits in a metal film that split a light beam into two depending on its wavelength

Danhong Huang and L. David Wellems
Appl. Opt. 51(33) 7969-7981 (2012)